The Oregon men’s golf team was expecting to be booking a flight to Alabama right now.
The Ducks were supposed to be going to the NCAA Championships for the third straight year, and the program was supposed to gain that last pinnacle that would vault it into the category of the nation’s best golf teams.
Instead, the No. 19 Ducks were stunned by five lower-ranked teams at the NCAA West Regionals in Fresno, Calif., last weekend and missed a trip to the Championships by one stroke.
But a season is not defined by one tournament. Even though they are disappointed, the Ducks are not jumping off buildings because of what happened in Fresno.
Instead, two days after it all ended, the Ducks are accentuating the positives of their season.
“We had numerous successes this year,” Oregon head coach Steve Nosler said, “almost too numerous to mention.”
For one, the Ducks’ results this year are impressive. They placed better than fifth nine times in 13 tournaments. They finished worse than 10th only twice — and just got unlucky that one of those times was when it really counted.
The Ducks didn’t win a tournament this year, but had two second, two third and three fourth place finishes.
Oregon finished fourth at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships but finished behind six Pac-10 teams at the regionals. The Ducks garnered a No. 19 ranking towards the end of the season and felt they could be higher.
“I think we’ve got our best golf ahead of us,” senior co-captain Ryan Lavoie said before the West Regionals. “I think we’re one of the better teams in the country, and no one really knows about us.”
A bright future
Oregon could very well be one of the better teams in the country in years to come.
Junior T.J. Duncan, who transferred to Oregon from Nevada, seems to be improving with every tournament and should lead the team next year.
Sophomore Aaron Byers ended his season on a high note, shooting a three-under par 69 in his final round at the regionals.
“I think he’s learned a lot,” Nosler said of Byers.
Junior Matt Genovese and sophomore Brandon Harnden got playing time this year and could make an impact next year.
But the biggest wild card for the Ducks is freshman Chris Carnahan. The Albany native had a banner season for a freshman, garnering the team’s second-lowest scoring average.
“Chris Carnahan had about as good a year as any freshman I have ever had,” Nosler said.
Senior co-captain Andrew Tredway said of Carnahan, “He’s going to be awesome the next three years.”
Bye, bye seniors
Tredway is one of two seniors that will call this their last season as Oregon players. Tredway led the Ducks with a one-under par 215 at the West Regionals last weekend, just the latest notch in his Oregon belt.
The Ashland native shot consistently low scores in his time at Oregon, coming away with a multitude of top-10 finishes.
(top) Senior co-captain Andrew Tredway shot the Ducks’ lowest round at the West Regionals last weekend but is graduating. Freshman Chris Carnahan (bottom) is Oregon’s best hope for the future.
Ryan Lavoie, Tredway’s co-captain, will end his career as one of the most successful Ducks in recent memory. The team’s stroke-average leader, a selection for the all Pac-10 team and an individual title at the Southwest Intercollegiate are just some of the accolades Lavoie received this year.
“They’ve represented themselves, our men’s golf team and the University of Oregon in a very creditable fashion,” Nosler said of his graduating pair.
Lavoie and Tredway will be the only two golfers to leave the team this year.
The Ducks return five freshmen, four sophomores and two juniors next year.